Nation

Grandma tries to keep calm among crowd

Unimaginable grief: Jamillah being comforted by her son as the remains of her daughter Ariza and grandson Mohd Afif arrive at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Kuching.

KUCHING: Alone, Jamillah Noriah Abang Anuar cries in grief over her loss of six family members in the MH17 tragedy.

But among the crowd, who included Sarawak’s top leaders, the 72-year-old kept her composure and controlled her sorrow.

Surrounded by hundreds of family members, relatives and friends in sombre-coloured attire, Jamillah Noriah stepped forward in white to receive two caskets bearing the remains of her daughter Ariza Ghazalee, 47 and a grandson Mohd Afif Tambi, 19 at the RMAF base, near the Kuching International Airport yesterday.

Ariza Ghazalee

An RMAF Charlie C-130 aircraft carrying the coffins touched down at the air base at around 2.20pm yesterday.

Jamillah Noriah cried upon leaving the waiting room to receive the two coffins, but immediately pulled herself together after seeing the hordes of state officials, army officers and the media.

Clutching a handbag and pressing tissues on her cheeks, Jamillah Noriah went to the front of the crowd and was greeted by a sobbing younger daughter, Madzalina, who had been at KLIA earlier to receive the caskets of her sister and nephew, each draped in the national flag.

The caskets were loaded onto two hearses and given full state honours ahead of prayers at the State Mosque.

Family members and friends followed in buses and vans to the mosque and then to the Semariang Muslim cemetery, about 20km away.

Dignitaries at the mosque were led by Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

Mohd Afif Tambi

Ariza was with her husband, Tambi Jiee, 49, and their four children when the plane was shot down.

The remains of Tambi Jiee, Mohd Afzal, 17, Mohd Afruz, 13, and sister Marsha Azmeena, 15, have yet to be flown back home.

The family had spent the last three years in Kazakhstan, where Tambi was working and were heading home.

Another Sarawakian, Meling Mula, 48, was also on board MH17.

The Betong-born oil and gas employee, who lives in Bintulu, was returning from work overseas.